CD Review: Black Vincent “Teardrop Deluxe”

There was a time in the music industry when a person would walk into a recording studio with nothing more than a few lyrics to songs he had written and that was all he had. It was after he walked into the studio that he would meet the men who would help put together all of the musical parts to the songs that would become an album. This situation hardly happens today so when it does, the resulting album is something unique. This unique situation surrounds the new release from singer-songwriter Coley Kennedy, a man who recently created a release under the moniker of Black Vincent.

Along with Coley Kennedy on songs and vocals, the rest of the musicians that helped bring the Black Vincent concept to life include Justin Collins on Guitars, Keys, Vocals; Pete Javier on Guitars; Scott Collins on Guitars, Vocals; Jeremy Barrett on Bass Guitar; Adam Landry on Drums, Keys and Kim Collins on Vocals, Toms. Together, these talented musicians helped to add a lot of different influences to the music that was created to give shape to each of Kennedy’s songs. The results of the recording sessions is an album that takes the listener back in time to the late fifties, early sixties when rock stars like Elvis Presley, Bill Haley even Johnny Cash were the big names in the music industry. Once finished, nine songs from that recording session were compiled that became the new release from Black Vincent called Teardrop Deluxe.

Teardrop Deluxe from Black Vincent begins with the track “Lonely and Blue”. The track features a style that brings to mind an early rock and roll feel. More specifically, the roots rock produced on the track brings to mind something that would have been created by Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Roy Orbison. The gentle feel of the music and the slightly sad lyrics would have made the song perfect for Orbison. In fact, the track may remind Orbison fans of material from his string of hits from the 1960s.

The next track that sticks out on the Teardrop Deluxe album from Black Vincent is the song “When We Was Young”. Like “Lonely and Blue” before it, “When We Was Young” features an easy feel to the song and an even slower pace to the music than the earlier song. The track is created by an electric guitar, acoustic guitar and lap steel intertwining with each other to create the music. The guitar parts blend together in a way that creates a multi-faceted sound. While a bit on the slow side, the track contains a sound that the listener will enjoy.

“Friends with Motorcycles” is the first real upbeat and energetic track on the Teardrop Deluxe album from Black Vincent. The track picks up the pace and adds a real rock and roll feel to the music. The track actually feels like it would fit in with songs from the fifties as much as songs from artists from today that fit into the indie rock genre. The track feels like something from the fifties with a lot of indie rock feel thrown in. The vocals performed by Coley Kennedy seem to have a generous amount of believability to them as Kennedy sings about the things that he can claim as his own. The contribution of singer Kim Collins to the track gives the vocals from Kennedy some real depth. The track ends up being a rather fun and light moment on the release.

Yet another memorable moment on Teardrop Deluxe is the track “Smilin’ Jim is Down Again”. The track changes the feel of the album drastically as the song revolves around the piano played by contributing musician and album producer Justin Collins. The song also has simplicity to it as the track contains only a guitar, piano and keyboard to make up the music. The track contains a slightly psychedelic feel to the music that makes the song sound like something from David Bowie during the Glam Rock phase of his musical career. In fact, with Kennedy singing in an English accent, that Bowie influence is more than just a little apparent.

Keeping with a slow pace, the next track on the release is “Her Love”. The track is a slightly unusual combination of a slow pace, a beauty to the music and a strong electric guitar. The electric guitar and strong beat from the drums from Adam Landry make for a love song with more than the usual amount of energy to it. The six-plus minutes of the track makes it the longest track on the release.

Teardrop Deluxe from Black Vincent is a strong release from beginning to end. Although the vast majority of the album contains a slow pace to the music, it truly is the talent of all involved that is important. While the lyrics and vocals from singer-songwriter Coley Kennedy are the main things to focus on, the musicians included on each and every track are just as important as Kennedy as they bring the music to life. Together, Coley Kennedy and the rest of the musicians have created a release that is solid.

To check out the music from Black Vincent, listen to the lead-off song from the Teradrop Deluxe album called “Lonely and Blue“.